Analyte detection in physiological fluids, e.g. blood or blood derived products, is of ever increasing importance to today's society. Analyte detection assays find use in a variety of applications, including clinical laboratory testing, home testing, etc., where the results of such testing play a prominent role in diagnosis and management in a variety of disease conditions. Analytes of interest include glucose for diabetes management, cholesterol, and the like. In response to this growing importance of analyte detection, a variety of analyte detection protocols and devices for both clinical and home use have been developed.
One type of method that is employed for analyte detection is an electrochemical method. In such methods, an aqueous liquid sample is placed into a sample-receiving chamber in an electrochemical cell that includes two electrodes, e.g., a counter and working electrode. The analyte is allowed to react with a redox reagent to form an oxidizable (or reducible) substance in an amount corresponding to the analyte concentration. The quantity of the oxidizable (or reducible) substance present is then estimated electrochemically and related to the amount of analyte present in the initial sample.
The electrochemical cell is typically present on a test strip which is configured to electrically connect the cell to an analyte measurement device. While current test strips are effective, the size of the test strips can directly impact the manufacturing costs. While it is desirable to provide test strips having a size that facilitates handling of the strip, increases in size will tend to increase manufacturing costs where there is an increased amount of material used to form the strip. Moreover, increasing the size of the test strip tends to decrease the quantity of strips produced per batch, thereby further increasing manufacturing costs.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved electrochemical sensing apparatus and methods.